Where the Heart Is
by Luciferine
Summary: Sequel to 'Straight On 'Til Morning' and 'Hell Bound'. The aftermath of Joel's confession to his brother. Sometimes, home isn't a place. It's a person. EDIT: Chapter 2 is up! Ellie and Joel struggle with their inner demons and face the dreaded Confrontation. Pre- Joel/Ellie if you squint. Tommy/Maria
1. i

"They would have killed her, Tommy." Joel's voice cracks halfway through the sentence and he's gritting his teeth against tears and fuck it all Ellie really wants to hug him right now. Silence reigns in the relatively small space of Tommy and Maria's bedroom. Ellie knows she should probably look over at Joel's brother and sister-in-law, to measure their reactions and see if her and Joel need to get the fuck outta here, but she can't. She can't even process what's happening, what she's just heard. Yes, it was everything she was expecting, but there were dimensions to it that she couldn't have fathomed.

Joel had explained the entire story, even going back so far as to what happened directly after they left Tommy's dam. Ellie had quietly chipped in when he got the topic of his accident and subsequent months of feverish recuperation. She had choked slightly as she explained about David, and she had collapsed onto the bed for a moment, not quite sobbing but definitely not alright either, where she was joined by Joel. They had leaned into each other in miserable silence for a few moments before Joel picked the story back up. Ellie didn't speak again after that. Back in the present, she's still sitting on the bed with a barely composed Joel and fucking hell she really just wants to sleep. She somehow finds the energy to grab his hand anyways, and squeeze. _We're OK._

"Maybe… We should resume this in the morning?" Maria offers with uncharacteristic softness, looking at her husband and them. "We're all tired, and I think we've had enough of an explanation for now."

"Dammit, Joel." Tommy's voice has lost all hostility. Now he just sounds as exhausted as Joel and Ellie look. "You selfish fucking bastard. You've gone and doomed us all." His tone softens his words, however. He seems mystified, but not entirely surprised. Joel doesn't look up from where he's buried his head in his hands, but he lets out a self-deprecating bark of laughter, regardless.

"I fucking one-upped the goddamn apocalypse. I deserve a fucking medal." He mutters, the sound somewhat muffled by his hands. His tone is somewhat amused, in what Ellie can only think to call a sort of gallows humour. The last laugh of a man whose seen the future, and knows it ain't all that bright.

"We." Ellie corrects him, breaking her silence. Three pairs of eyes all turn to her. "We fucking one-upped the goddamn apocalypse, you limelight-stealing bastard. Don't you dare take all the credit for this one. And I want a trophy, not a medal. I think I've earned it." And despite themselves, despite the grimness of their situation, they all burst into laughter. Like she said, gallows humour.

"Maria's right." Tommy says once they've all gotten themselves under control, yawning hard enough that Ellie hears his jaw crack. "We all need to rest. I… Well, there's a room for you, Joel." The pleasantly surprised look on Joel's face makes him like so young for a minute that it tugs at Ellie's heartstrings. She tries to remind herself she's supposed to be angry at him. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.

"What?" Joel blinks, confused. Tommy rubs the back of his head, looking sheepish.

"When you and Ellie left… I… Well, I figured you'd probably stay with her if you could, but on the chance that the Fireflies were able to drag you away from her and boot you out, I wanted to make sure there was a place for you. Just in case." Ellie thinks he might be blushing a bit under his tan. She gets the feeling that Joel isn't the only one in his family who's terrible at feelings. She'll have to ask Maria about that later. That is, she notes, if they don't get booted out onto their asses first. Joel surprises everyone, probably himself included, by walking over to Tommy and slapping his back in what Ellie knows as Joel's version of a hug.

"Thanks, Tommy." He doesn't say 'little brother', and Ellie wonders if that's supposed to mean something. Tommy just nods, smiling slightly. Joel's smiling too, and for a second Ellie can imagine them in their younger years, before all this shit happened. She has to look away, and ends up meeting Maria's gaze. The older woman gives her a sad smile, and Ellie knows she's not alone in her thoughts.

"We'll find Ellie a room for herself if you both want your space. You guys must be sick of each other after so long." Maria offers. Tommy nods in agreement. Blind panic flashes through Ellie and she makes a small, alarmed sound. Joel can only managed what sounds suspiciously like a growl before he can manage actual words.

"No." He rumbles and the same time Ellie blurts it out frantically. Tommy raises his hands in surrender, taking a step back from his brother. Ellie doesn't blame him. Joel looks scary. She looks to Maria and finds the older woman smiling to herself. She doesn't seem at all surprised.

"OK, OK, don't bite our heads off. This way." Ellie doesn't think she's imagining that he's walking faster than usual, putting space between him and Joel. She snorts in amusement. Joel looks back at her from the doorway.

"Wanna share the joke?" He asks, his face softening into a smile. She waves her hand in a dismissive gesture.

"It's nothing. You and Tommy are funny, is all." Joel looks indignant at that.

"I'm not funny." He grumbles. Ellie snorts again. "'m not" He mutters under his breath. She pats him on the arm and slides past him to follow Tommy and Maria, who is watching them again with that damned pleased look on her face.

Their new home is a small, cabin-like structure. Comfortable for one person, and well enough for two. It's the most beautiful thing Ellie has ever seen. She's smiling so much her face hurts. Tommy seems pleased at that, and makes a grand, sweeping gesture towards the cabin. Ellie rushes in, keen to explore. Joel laughs outright at that, and it's a good laugh. She stops when she hears Joel speak up.

"So, how long do we get to stay?" His voice has an edge in it, and for a moment Ellie is confused.

"How d'you mean?" Tommy asks in reply, his tone stating he knows exactly what his brother means.

"How long until you call the Fireflies on us? Or before someone else in this place finds out and Ellie ends up being dragged back to that godforsaken hospital? So help me God, Tommy, I love you and your my brother but-"

"But if you think for a second that I'm a threat to Ellie's safety you'll blow my fucking head off." Tommy finishes, voice just as hard.

"Boys…" Maria starts, voice cautious.

"That's right." Joel says, as if she hadn't spoken at all. "I don't want to hurt you, Tommy. I really don't. So if you're planning anything stupid or if you think we're in danger here, promise me you'll at least give us a head start." There's a long pause before Joel speaks again, and his voice is cracking again. "Please. I can't… Not again. I can't watch her die, Tommy…" He trails off. Ellie peeks out around the open door. Maria catches her immediately but doesn't say anything. Tommy sighs, and Ellie sees him rub his hand across his face.

"If something did happen. If she was taken back to the Fireflies and they got the vaccine and saved the world. What would you do?" Tommy asks, staring hard into his brother's face. "If she was dead and gone and there was nothing you could do to save her, what would you do?" Joel's face is hard as stone when he answers.

"Give her body as decent a burial as I could, if I could, and then swallow the barrel of my gun." Tommy flinches. "That good enough for you, little brother?"

"You'd be a hero, Joel. So would she. No one would ever forget-" Tommy tries, before Joel cuts him off violently.

"I don't fucking CARE if no one would ever forget, because she'd be fucking DEAD, Tommy. And it would be worse than everything before, worse than Sarah, because I would have lead her straight into it. Her choice or not, I would've never been able to live with myself." He grinds out.

"That's what you used to say when you thought about anything happening to-"

"Ellie is not Sarah." And Ellie's never been scared of Joel, not really, but if she was Tommy right now she'd be pissing herself. He's shifted so she can't see his face, but if Tommy's expression is anything to go by, it's scary as hell. Tommy raises his hands again and backs away.

"Easy, Joel. Easy. No one's doing anything tonight. I… I need time to think. But I swear on my life, if I make a decision that will hurt you or Ellie, I'll warn you ahead of time." He promises. Joel snorts.

"Words." He spits it out like a curse. "Don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. You could still ambush us in the middle of the night, shoot me and take the girl while she's sleeping." Ellie's actually frightened for Tommy, now. Joel's gone feral. His younger brother seems to be handling it well, though, all things considered.

"You're right. In that case, the smart thing to do would be to shoot Maria and me and run like hell. No one else knows. You'd be safe." He says calmly. Ellie's eyes bug out of her head. Tommy can't be that stupid, can he? Doesn't he know Joel? He's dead. Him and Maria both. Unless… The second Ellie sees Joel's hand so much as twitch towards his revolver, she bolts out of the cabin and grabs his shooting arm.

"Dammit, Ellie…" He growls.

"Dammit, Joel." She mocks. "Don't be fucking stupid. You're not going to shoot your own brother over me, dumbass. Listen. The way I see it, we get a good night's sleep on something better than the fucking ground, and we take shifts. If either of us hears anything suspicious, we wake the other and we hightail it the fuck outta here. Then you can shoot Tommy, if you still want to. But I am fucking tired and so are you and we have a fuckload of things to discuss and have I mentioned I am fucking exhausted?" She rambles in a run-on sentence. She feels him relax slightly, deflate. He leans into her a bit and she quickly shifts to accommodate the extra weight and not fall over.

"I guess you're right." He mumbles. Ellie rolls her eyes.

"You guess, huh?" She elbows him in the side. He makes a grumbling noise and elbows her back. "What are you, five?" She says, eyebrow raised.

"You started it." He says pointedly. Ellie rolls her eyes skyward and shakes her head. When she looks back at Tommy and Maria, both they're mouths are open.

"What?" She asks.

"Thanks." Tommy manages to blurt out. "For, uh, not letting me get shot."

"He wouldn't have really shot you." Ellie says with more confidence than she actually feels.

"Yes I would- ow." Joel grumbles as she elbows him again, harder this time.

"Yeah, he would have." Tommy says with a knowing, slightly sad smile.

"I'd appreciate it if you returned the favor?" Ellie requests. "Don't let me get killed, either." And Tommy stares at her for a moment before nodding.

"I'll do my damndest. Joel'll hunt me down like a fucking dog if I don't, I reckon."

"Damn straight." Joel grinds out. Maria sighs deeply.

"OK, boys. That's enough threats and near death experiences for one night. Let's go, Tommy. Leave the kids to talk." She ushers her husband away, but not before looking to Ellie with violent relief in her eyes and mouthing 'thank you'. Ellie just nods. Joel watches until they've returned the way they came, and only then can Ellie manage to coax him into the cabin.

"For what it's worth, I don't think he was lying." She says quietly, placing her backpack on the ground. Joel just sinks onto the single cot and grunts, running his fingers through his hair. Ellie explores the one-room structure for a bit. It's more on the outskirts of the settlement, as close to the woods as it can get, and Ellie wonders if Tommy chose it specifically to match Joel's lone wolf nature. The furnishings are sparse, mainly just the cot and a couple of things that could be used as stools or tables or possibly one of each.

"Do you like it?" Joel asks, breaking the silence. Ellie takes a moment, and then nods.

"I really do." She almost whispers. He sighs.

"OK. So… I guess that means we've gotta make this work, then. Which means…"

"We need to talk." Ellie finishes for him. She turns around and sits beside Joel on the cot.

"Fuck." He says with his usual eloquence. Ellie laughs in spite of it all.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

**AN: The confrontation is next I swear! I was really expecting it to happen but then Joel had to go and angst all over the place. Dammit Joel this is why we can't have nice things. Anyways, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you so much for everything! The support I've gotten for the Straight On 'Til Morning series has been phenomenal. You guys are amazing. This is all for you. Also, this will be a two-chapter story. The confrontation will come next, and then we're moving on to another oneshot. Probably. I can't make plans for this series anymore it just runs away with me. Anyways, as you can probably tell, I switched back into Ellie's 3****rd**** person POV for this, and I'll be writing in Joel's for the next chapter. I'll probably alternate in such fashion most of the time, although I am planning a very angsty fic narrated by Tommy because our two favourite badasses won't be available to do so… Hence the angst. Take from that what you will. Naughty Dog owns everything, all mistakes are mine, I love you all, see you next time! **


	2. ii

"You sure are a lot calmer then I woulda imagined." Joel mutters, unable to listen to one more second of goddamn silence. Ellie doesn't answer. She's been staring at the same damn spot on the fucking ceiling for way too long and it's making Joel jittery. Why won't she fucking say something?

"Do you think there're more of 'em?" Ellie asks, not moving her eyes from the spot. Joel looks at her oddly, caught off guard.

"More of who?" He finds himself surprisingly grateful for the sudden change in topic. He does not want to talk about It. Yes, capital letters and the whole fucking deal. He ain't ready and he sure ain't looking forward to the inevitable fallout.

"The Fireflies." Ellie continues, seemingly unaware of his inner thoughts. He scoffs internally. Unaware, his ass. Ellie knows what he's thinking better than he does, half the fucking time. It takes his brain a moment to process what she just said and suddenly his whole brain decides to throw a screaming fit. He stuffs the panic into a small corner of his mind to deal with later, and clears his throat.

"Now, why would you ask a thing like that?" He asks, not without suspicion. A possibility dawns on him. "Ellie, don't you even think for a fucking second that I'm gonna let you run off and fucking off yourself for mankind. I don't care if you hate me for the rest of my likely short and miserable life but-"

"Don't say that." She growls suddenly, and it's a lot less cute than you'd think. Joel is actually a little frightened.

"What?" He asks. She glares at him. He raises his hands in a gesture of surrender. Really, he thinks he's allowed to be confused. Any number of things he just said could have crossed a line. She punches him in the arm, against an old fracture and damn her she knows that-

"Don't talk about you dying." She says darkly, while he rubs at his arm. He blinks for a second, collecting himself. He looks at her.

"Out of all the shit I just said, that's the thing that made you punch me?" She throws another punch but he catches it this time. Her fist doesn't quite fit in his. Sarah's used to. He remembers his earlier words to Tommy, when he was genuinely prepared to blow his little brother's brains out. _Ellie is not Sarah_. And then…_You're not my daughter and I sure as hell ain't you dad._ No. Definitely not his kid. Sister-in-arms, he supposes, an ally. A friend. Maybe, he grimaces when he remembers her standing between him and Tommy on two separate occasions, his conscience, too. Ellie somehow manages to make a small, concerned noise while keeping up the full force of her glare.

"Damn, Joel. You must be really losing your edge if that actually hurt you." She says. He snorts.

"Yeah, you wish. Naw. I was just… thinking."

"Don't strain yourself." Ellie mutters, earning her a smack upside the head. "Hey!" Joel rolls his eyes briefly before becoming serious once more.

"Ellie…" He begins. She groans.

"For fuck's sakes, Joel, I'm not going to go turn myself in to the Fireflies. Dumbass. But that doesn't mean they won't come looking for me." She mutters. Joel's eyes harden and he feels an all-too familiar rage bubbling up.

"They won't. I swear they won't. If Tommy-"

"I'm not talking about Tommy, Joel. He's not going to call them on me. He's not dumb, you know. He knows you'll kill him and probably everyone else here for good measure if he does. Plus… I don't think he'd want to do that to you. Or me. " Joe clenches his jaw, but nods.

"Fine. How else would they find you, then? I killed them all, for the exact reason of them not coming after you. Ever." He grits out. She fixes him with another dark look and he remembers why exactly they're in here. What they still have to talk about.

"Yes, how sweet of you to massacre an entire faction of rebels for me. I'm touched." She deadpans. "I swear, Joel. Aren't you supposed to be smart about shit like this? Do you honestly think every Firefly in the country was centered at that hospital? Really? Do you think that another faction might go back only to find their buddies dead? Don't you think they'll figure it out? There might be paperwork or some-"

"Recordings." Joel interrupts her, face going white.

"What?" Ellie asks, obviously irritated at being interrupted. Joel reaches into his backpack and takes out Marlene's recorder from the hospital. Ellie looks at him questioningly. He hits play. They sit in silence for a few minutes, just listening.

"_Oh, I miss you Anna. Your daughter will be with you soon."_ As the recording clicked off, Joel didn't even dare to look up. He hears Ellie take a shuddering breath. He hasn't let go of her hand since she attempted the second punch, and he lets her clutch at it.

"When you told Tommy that they were gonna kill me…" She hiccups, and Joel pulls her closer. She hesitates for a moment before practically climbing on top of him and sobbing into his shoulder. "I… I never thought… I mean… I hoped… I was awake when you shot Marlene." She blurts out. Joel doesn't even have the energy left to be surprised. He just nods. "The drugs wore off a long time before the car. I… I faked it, I guess, but I think I feel asleep, too… I can't remember. I was so tired. I couldn't deal."

"How much did you hear?" He asks, though he can hazard a guess. She shudders briefly, and he observes, as if from very far away, that his shirt is getting really fucking wet. He also observes that he could not give less of a shit about it.

"I don't know how long I was under." Suddenly, she starts laughing. Joel just hugs her closer, letting her ride out the hysterics. "They told me I was gonna die, you know. Not in so many words." She pulls away from his should to look at him. "The doctors." She explains, seeing his confused expression. "They told me I was doing a great thing, that I had worked so hard, and they kept saying thank you. They told me it'd all be over real quick and I… I was still kinda out of it from nearly fucking drowning and if I had been more awake I might have put two and two together quicker but… Joel, I didn't realize I was gonna die until the last second. And I was so fucking afraid. And I thought about you and what you'd do with me gone and… and…" She dissolves into dry sobbing now, all her tears gone. She's so goddamn light, he notes. He hopes Tommy will at least let them eat before he runs them out.

"OK, baby girl. Just breathe. You're gonna make yourself sick. Then how're you supposed to punch me in the face for being so goddamn stupid?" She bursts out laughing again at that. Once she's calmed down, she settles back against his shoulder.

"Why'd you do it?" She asks quietly. Joel expects his muscles to seize up, for his throat to close like when Ellie got between him and Tommy that first time, but nothing happens. He's calm, clear-headed. The dreaded Question is upon him and he just feels fucking relieved.

"Because I'm a selfish, good-for-nothing bastard and you're the one good thing I've got left." He says, and it's the damndest thing, how easily the truth will come out if you let it. All those years of lying and looking over his shoulder, he thought he might've forgotten how to speak anything true. "Marlene…" Joel exhales. "D'you remember when she said that you'd want to die for the cure?" She nods silently. "Did you? Do you?" His voice is real low, and he's trying real hard to stop it from cracking. The silence is killing him and he can't look at Ellie because what if she did what if she still does oh god…

"I wanted to save the world." She says, her voice little more than a whisper. "I never gave much thought to how. I just figured… We'd get to the Fireflies, and they'd know exactly what to do, and… I don't know. They'd make the vaccine and I'd make them give it to you before anyone else, any of theirs. And then we'd both be immune and everyone else would be too, slowly. And I'd be a hero and they'd probably want to keep my around but you'd stay so it wouldn't be too horrible, and then either they'd let me out once things were stable or you'd sneak me out and we'd go to Tommy's and get them the cure and then…" She trails off, eyes distant.

"We'd live happily ever after." He finishes, voice cracking on 'happily', and there's no condescension or teasing in his tone.

"Yeah." She says, in that tiny voice again. "We'd live happily ever after." There's another beat of silence. "Hey, Joel?" She whispers.

"Yeah?" He says, just as quiet, not trusting his voice.

"Would you have stayed?" She asks him. "If you'd gotten me there and they weren't gonna kill me and you got cured and I was perfectly fine. Would you have still stayed? Even though there wasn't anything else for you to do?" She avoids his gaze when he tries to look at her.

"Would you have wanted me to?" He asks. She snorts.

"Yes." She says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe, Joel thinks, it is.

"Yes." He tells her. And then his face feels wet and shit, did Tommy forget to patch a hole in the roof dammit that kid can't do anything-

"You're crying." Ellie says, awestruck. Like she's seeing the Second Coming, or something. Joel snorts and brings his hand across his face. Sure enough, it comes back wet.

"Yeah." He says, voice thick. "I guess I am." More silence.

"You cried then, too. After Marlene. When you were putting me in the car." She notes quietly, as if to herself. He nods and presses the heel of his hand to his forehead. "I'm glad you did it." Ellie says, her voice suddenly fierce. Joel removes his hand and looks at her, confused. She looks blurry through the tears. "I'm glad you didn't let me die, Joel. Is that horrible?" She's whispering again, now. "I want to feel guilty but every time I think of that room and that table…" She trails off, voice shaking along with the rest of her. "I'm really fucking glad you did it. And that makes me a shitty person, but whatever. It's a shitty world. I match." And she pulls away from him then, and he suddenly feels very alone and very empty, like he's lost a limb. She curls up into a ball.

"It's not worth much, coming from me, but you're the least shitty person I know." Joel informs her, grabbing her by the shoulders and hauling her back over. She makes no protests and curls back up in his lap.

"It means a lot." She says, and her voice if muffled by his shirt so he's not sure he's heard right. She pulls away and looks straight at him, and dammit how's he supposed to stop crying when she's looking at him like that, like he's the fucking end-all and be-all of this existence? How the fuck if he not supposed to break down because he's so fucking obviously not any of that and she's going to find out someday and she's going to realize she wasted the best years of her life tagging along with a broken old man and she's going to hate him- "Joel?" He shakes himself back into reality.

"Yeah?"

"You're not a selfish, good-for-nothing bastard." She says, and Ellie's a good liar but her eyes are all big and earnest and- Fuck. He can't correct her. Not those eyes. Not that face. He groans internally. He wishes he could. The inevitable disappointment might kill her. Somehow, he manages to grit it out.

"I'm really not." He says, and he hates that he has to say that. That he's the type of man who needs to come with a warning label. He violently wishes he could go back and change how he did everything in the past twenty years, so long as he could get to the point and be able to hear Ellie tell him he was good and be able to not say anything. But he's not. And he did. And as much as he regrets all those things, those things that keep him up at night, that keep Tommy up at night, those things that he never wants Ellie to know about but will probably end up confessing in a blabbering, blubbering mess one night, at the same time he doesn't. Regret them. Because now he's here. And that's something. That's one hell of a really fucking big something.

He's interrupted by a knock at the door. It occurs to him there's a lock on it, and that he's forgotten to make use of said lock.

"What d'you want?" Joel growls out, in a long string that sounds more like, "Whattayawant". His arms tighten around Ellie instinctively and one hand goes for his revolver.

"Easy, big guy. It's just me." Maria's voice is amused from the other side of the door. Joel huffs.

"Come in." Ellie says, when Joel remains stubbornly silent. The door opens, and Maria walks in carrying a basket and an extra bedroll.

"I come bearing gifts." She says, waving the basket. If she notices their puffy eyes and tearstained faces, which she definitely does, she doesn't say anything. "I figured you guys might need some food. And another bedroll because there's not enough room for the two of you- no offense Joel," he scowls, "and I don't want to hear either of you complaining about sleeping on the floor because you were trying to let the other get some sleep. Knowing you two, you'd both end up there just to spite each other." They remain resolutely silent. She's completely right. "Anyways. I'll be on my way, now. Bye." She sets the basket and the bedroll onto the floor and starts out the door. Joel sighs.

"Maria." He calls after her. She stops, turn to face him with an inquiring look on her face. "Thanks. For all this. And for… For everything else, too." He looks anywhere but at her. Maria smiles, and it's a beautiful thing. She nods.

"We're family, Joel. You and Tommy and me and Ellie by extension. We gotta watch out for each other. You're not alone, you know. Not anymore." Her voice is soft. Joel chuckles and plays with a stray strand of Ellie's hair, his face thoughtful.

"No." He agrees. "I don't think I ever was." He doesn't look back up at Maria, and only raises his eyes again once he's heard the soft click of the door.

"I think we get to stay." Ellie tells him once she's gone. Her voice has a hushed sort of glee to it that makes his heart ache. He remembers a story, some stupid kid's thing from Before. About Christmas and an ugly green creature whose heart was too small and then expanded once he stopped being such a jackass. Joel thinks that's what he's experiencing. Not a thawing, like in all the cheesy feel-good stories, but a really fucking painful expansion. It's a good pain, though. He doesn't really mind.

"Yeah." He manages to say, kissing the side of her head. "I think so, too." Ellie yawns loudly, and it prompts him to yawn as well. He looks out the small window and sees it's grown dark. "Come on, kid. Let's bed down for the night. I'm fucking exhausted." Ellie makes a vague noise of agreement behind yet another yawn.

"Joel." Ellie stage whispers, once they've settled. He groans and turns around to face her.

"Mmm?" He mumbles incoherently.

"You're my one good thing, too." And it's the damndest thing, how easily love will come, if you let it.

**AN 1: I just wanted to answer a question that a lot of you guys seems to be asking. As far as chapters vs. oneshots, I actually have an explanation as to why I do that. I was actually having this same conversation with Michael7123 (whose story 'Look for the Light' is a very imaginative take on the beginning of the epidemic and the eventual creation of the Fireflies, therefore you should go read it because it's quite good and the author is really nice. So go do that.) the other day. So, I'll pretty much copy and paste what I said. I totally see where you're coming from, and for the first three stories they do flow chronologically, but I write them as more or less open and shut unto themselves, which is why I decided to make a series instead of a single, very long story. Also, with the way things are unraveling I might not have ever been able to actually write an open and shut ending for the whole thing, so I prefer to write complete oneshots or small chaptered fics (like this latest one will be) instead of one large uncompleted compilation. Also, chaptered fics, especially large ones, have never been a favourite of mine? I prefer the freedom of an open-and-shut oneshot. Also, you guys will end up getting more in the long run, because I'd probably rush to end the larger story as soon as possible, whereas the oneshots can (and probably will, at this rate) go on for a while. That being said, I am planning at least one compilation of day-in-the-life oneshots in one fic. So you guys will get some chapters there, even if they aren't quite connected or chronological. Hopefully, that will lighten the mood after this angst fest (even if it ended up ending really fucking fluffy), and the angst fests to come. I apologize in advance for the pain. I promise I'll fix it. **

**AN 2: Alright, everyone. We have reached the point of no return. The point where there is literally nothing game-centric left for me to go on for the SOTM series. Meaning. From here on out, it's all me. God help us all. I got a lot of amazing ideas last night, and I'm actually really excited. However, fair warning. Ratings for fics after the day-in-the-life collection will be going up, mostly for violence and extremely painful angst and general horribleness, as well as some mild/implied sexuality and underagers getting up to general naughtiness. It's going to get bad. And awesome. And I may or may not be going to hell for it. It is also at this point where there will be the introduction of OCs, some of whom I am incredibly fond of already and can't wait to share with you all. Because, well, you can't have a town without people. There will be a few new slightly sci-fi-ish elements, but nothing too crazy, considering it's set in the fucking zombie apocalypse and all. At this point on, does it count as an AU? I suppose if there's a sequel to the game it will be… Meh. Who cares. Anyways, I mostly wanted to tell you the new developments, as well as warn you about the future fics of doom. I love you all, I own nothing but the mistakes, thanks for everything, see you next time!**

**AN 3: OK I know there's a lot of ANs but I just got really overwhelmed from the support I just got for comments and everything, and I just wanted to say thank you again. You guys have to be the best readers ever. Also, I wanted to say if anyone has any questions about the series or about writing or if you just want to pop by and talk, my inbox is always open. I love talking to you guys, and the conversations I've had with readers so far have been amazing. So. Keep it up!**


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